July 11, 2007 - The Henry County Treasurer announced last Thursday that she expects property tax bills to be mailed out within the next few weeks.

According to a press release issued by Treasurer Debbie Walker, property owners will have until Friday, August 24, to pay the first installment of their taxes. The second installment will be due Tuesday, November 13.

While tax bills have yet to be mailed out, the Henry County Auditor’s Office has released the rates that are being used to determine how much taxes property owners owe. Nearly every taxing unit in the county registered higher rates for 2006 taxes that property owners pay this year.

At $3.9008 per $100 of taxable property, Henry County property owners who live in Shirley have, as they did last year, the highest total property tax rate in the county. This rate, however, is actually a 2.7% reduction from the $4.0088 total rate they had last year.

Property owners in New Castle and Knightstown have, respectively, the second and third highest total property tax rates in Henry County. New Castle’s rate increased 4.1 percent to $3.6260, while Knightstown’s rate went up on 1.2 percent to $3.2454.

The highest total tax rate increases in Henry County were registered by the towns of Dunreith and Spiceland. The total rate for property owners in Dunreith climbed 32.6 percent from $2.2508 last year to $2.9854, while the total rate for those in Spiceland jumped 28.8 percent, from $2.3335 to $3.0054.

With respect to the five school corporations in Henry County, Blue River Valley Schools had the highest tax rate ($1.8597) for property owners in its district, followed by the Charles A. Beard Memorial School Corporation ($1.8449 for Henry County taxpayers, $1.7943 for Rush County taxpayers), New Castle Community Schools ($1.6005), South Henry School Corporation ($1.5929) and Shenandoah School Corporation ($1.5762).

The property tax rates for all five Henry County school corporations were higher than last year. At 17.5 percent, Shenandoah registered the highest increase, followed by a 15.4-percent jump at South Henry.
According to the press release Walker issued last week, Henry County property owners can pay their property taxes at the local branches of Ameriana Bank, MainSource Bank, Citizens State Bank, Star Financial Bank and First Merchants Bank. Payments can also be made online at www.henryco.net, or by calling 1-866-480-8552. Payments can also be made in person at the Henry County Treasurer’s Office, 101 S. Main St., between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Persons who believe their tax bill is in error, or that the assessment and valuation of their property is not correct, have 45 days from the date their bill is mailed to raise the issue with the Henry County Assessor’s Office. For more information about the procedures for challenging or appealing a property tax bill, contact Henry County Assessor Jodie Brown at (765) 529-2104.